10 best opening scenes in horror movies that hooked us instantly

The best opening scenes in horror movies are those where the viewers are instantly glued in. From using an eerie soundtrack to exploring unique camera angles and ultimately showcasing a full story in a short sequence, the introductory scene of a horror movie is one of the most important parts of a horror film. It has the ability to make or break the movie. Over the years, there have been many movies that have brilliantly played on the viewers need for thrills by creating a shocking and startling first sequence. Therefore, here are 10 best opening scenes in horror movies.

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It Follows, Scream, and other films with the best opening scenes in horror movies

1. Final Destination

Directed by James Wong, this supernatural horror movie features Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, and others. The movie focuses on a teenager, Alex (Sawa), who has a premonition before the take-off, wherein, the plane has exploded and all his classmates, including himself, have died. While Alex is able to save some of his friends and witness his premonition coming to life, a mysterious force begins targeting all those who were saved from the flight and kills them one by one. Even though the critics’ reviews were mixed, the movie was a hit with the audiences and ushered in an era of Final Destination movies that became a part of pop culture. One thing that works brilliantly for the franchise is that it always begins with a thrilling and shocking premonition, which immediately sucks the viewers in. While each successive movie has upped the ante on the introductory premonition sequence, the first movie’s premonition about a devastating flight explosion is still the most legendary. Another aspect of the introductory premonition that is so thrilling is that Alex begins to feel uncomfortable and nervous about something bad about to happen and small things begin adding up. For example, his tray doesn’t work, high-volume music is ringing through his ears, and other things begin to overwhelm him and the audiences as well, creating a rising momentum of panic and anticipation.

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2. A Quiet Place

Starring Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, and others, this post-apocalyptic horror movie is also directed by Krasinski. The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic world where blind extraterrestrial creatures have inhabited the earth but they hunt by sound. Amidst all this, a couple, played by Blunt and Krasinski, try to raise their children and survive without making a noise. The movie was a critical and commercial success and was nominated for multiple awards. It even spawned a whole franchise. However, the movie’s opening sequence is what make the viewers admire the movie so much. The scene begins with the lead family scavenging through town and only talking in signals, which heightens the atmosphere about upcoming danger. The next scene shows that the family’s youngest child has taken a toy from an abandoned store, even though his father warned him not to because it would make noise. However, when the whole family is crossing the bridge, the youngest child gets left behind and begins to play his toy. As the rest of the family realizes in horror, the father runs to save his child but a dangerous creature snatches the kid before he could reach and the movie begins on a note of shock and sadness.

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3. It Follows

Starring Maika Monroe and directed by David Robert Mitchell, this horror movie focuses on a young woman, played by Monroe, who is being chased and stalked by an unnatural entity. The movie received praise from critics and was a box office hit. Since its release, the movie has got even more favorable reviews and is now considered a cult classic. Apart from the unsettling sequences in the movie, the film also has a chilling opening shot. The scene opens on a gray residential street and follows a traumatized woman who is running away from someone, whom the viewers can’t see. This aspect of the scene glues the viewers and as the woman gets into her car and drives to the beach, she is perplexed about someone following her. At the beach, she sits on the sand and hugs herself, which makes her terror even more eerie. Feeling hopeless, she apologizes to her father for her past mistakes and the tension rises even further. Finally, the next shot shows the woman lying lifeless in the sand, with her legs contorted into bizarre and disturbing positions. The movie’s opening shot therefore emphasizes the unseen but present nature of the evil force. It is one of the best opening scenes in horror movies.

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4. The Silence of The Lambs

Based on the novel by Thomas Harris, this psychological horror thriller is directed by Jonathan Demme and features Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and others. The movie is one of the most influential horror movies and is the only horror picture to win the Best Picture Award at the Oscars. Critically and commercially acclaimed, the movie is about a young FBI trainee, Clarice (Foster), who is investigating the serial killer, Buffalo Bill, and must seek the advice of a genius but cannibalistic psychiatrist, Hannibal (Hopkins). While there are many iconic sequences from the movie, for example the first meeting between Hannibal and Clarice, the opening sequence is what immediately sticks with the viewers. The shot opens in the foggy surroundings of a forest where Clarice is springing through the woods and physically training herself. The musical score, the close-up camera angles, and the intense focus on Clarice, all make the movie more anticipatory. Further, when she gets inside the FBI academy, she is surrounded by towering men and while Clarice looks like an innocent dwarf, she still carries on with resolute confidence. It is therefore, one of the best opening scenes in horror movies.

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5. It: Chapter One

Directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Bill Skarsgard, this horror movie is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. The movie covers the first half of the book and is set in Derry, Maine. The film focusses on a group of seven outcast children who are a part of The Losers’ Club. However, their boring lives are turned upside down when they are haunted by a clown-like figure who emerges from the sewer and snatches and kills children. The movie was a smash hit and also received rave reviews from critics. A thrilling movie, its first shot perfectly sets the eerie tone of the film. Viewers who haven’t read the book are in for an even bigger shock. They see a young child called Georgie, who is in a yellow raincoat and is playing in the rain. However, at that moment, the clown called Pennywise, emerges from a sewer and lures the child in. Horrifyingly though, the evil creature bites off the child’s arm and drags him into the sewer with immense graphic detail. The movie sets the gore level of the movie high from the first shot and is one of the best opening scenes in horror movies.

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6. Scream

Directed by Wes Craven and starring David Arquette, Neve Campbell, and others, this slasher horror movie is one of the most famous horror movies to be a part of pop culture. Each and every scene and dialogue of the movie is still remembered and the movie is made even more iconic by its meta references to horror movie tropes. The film is set in a small town where a high school student, Sidney (Campbell) and her friends, become the victim of a masked serial killer. The movie’s immense success spawned an entire franchise and its opening sequence is still considered as one of the most shocking introductory scenes in a movie. The opening scene pays homage to the classic movie, When A Stranger Calls. The audiences view a young girl, Casey (Drew Barrymore), being alone in her house and preparing popcorn. However, as she settles in for the night, a mysterious caller starts playfully asking her questions about classic horror movies. Casey also plays along and the atmosphere is getting tense. However, the caller abruptly changes his sweet voice into a scary and threatening one and reveals that he can see her in her house and has bound her boyfriend in the front yard. As Casey gets frantic for her and her boyfriend’s life, the caller barges into her home with a mask and begins to stalk her. Ultimately, the tension keeps rising and Casey is mortally wounded. As she is inches away from calling her parents for help, the killer snatches her away and kills her in a horrific manner. The scene of Casey hung from the tree is subversive and immediately became a horror opening classic.

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7. Ghost Ship

While this supernatural horror movie from the early aughts might have been forgotten, it still has one of the most chilling opening sequences. Directed by Steve Beck, the movie received negative critics reviews, but it still did well commercially. The movie is about a marine salvage crew that discover a mysterious ocean liner in the Bering Sea, which had disappeared in 1962. The opening sequence therefore gives a hint about what happened to the luxurious ocean liner in 1962. The movie begins on a note of celebration as a party is going on in the cruise and everyone is dancing and enjoying. The only child, Katie, is however bored, until the Captain offers to dance with her. While the two are dancing, someone is shown to have tightens the wire cord on the ship. After a few tense moments, the cord snaps and whips across the party. But what happens next is the most disturbing part. A silence overcomes the party and Katie realizes the horror as the bodies start falling apart because the wire has sliced everyone in half. Katie is the only one saved because of her short height. The scene is thrilling and invites the viewers into finding out the mystery of the cruise ship.

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8. Sinister

Directed by Scott Derrickson, this supernatural horror movie features Ethan Hawke. The movie was a box office success and received good critics reviews. Over the years, the movie has attained cult status and is regularly described as one of the scariest horror movies. The film is about a struggling true crime writer, Ellison (Hawke), who is trying to set his career right after his first book was a hit but the subsequent ones were a flop. He shifts his family into a new home and hopes that the change in scenery will remove his writer’s block. However, he finds a box full of snuff movies with mysterious origins that begin to cause supernatural elements in the house and puts his family in danger. The opening sequence of the movie therefore shows a short clip from one of the snuff movies that Ellison will later find. The sequence is unsettling as it is grimy and grim. It is a short scene but effective in disturbing the viewers as the camera focuses on a family of four with bags over their heads and nooses around their necks. There is an eerie background score and another person begins to saw off a branch. The family begins to hang and as they kick their feet and struggle, the shot heightens the viewers’ tension. Ultimately, the family hangs still and the title card of the movie appears. It is therefore, one of the best opening scenes in horror movies.

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9. The Shining

Based on the novel by Stephen King, this psychological horror movie is directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and others. The movie is about an aspiring novelist who gets the job of being the winter caretaker of an isolated hotel property. He therefore uses this opportunity to take his family to the hotel and work on his next book. However, the unsettling atmosphere of the hotel has an effect on him and he begins to descend into insanity and harms his family. The movie is one of the most influential horror movies in history and while the movie received mixed reviews upon release, it is now cited as one of the greatest horror movies. One of the defining aspects of the film is its building of tension, which Kubrick is a master of. In the opening sequence of the film, there is nothing gory or shocking happening, but it still catches the attentions of the viewers with its unsettling background score and the visual of a car racing along the stunning mountain ranges. The scene is simple but it sets the atmosphere and tone of the movie brilliantly. It is the feeling of anticipation that makes the scene so iconic and one of the best opening scenes in horror movies.

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10. Jaws

Another classic horror movie, this horror thriller directed by Steven Spielberg is based on a novel by Peter Benchley. Starring Roy Scheider, the movie is about the police chief Martin (Scheider), who along with a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter, decides to take down a man-eating great white shark that has begun to terrorize beachgoers in a summer resort town. The film was highly successful and became a breakout hit. It achieved classic status almost immediately and set the tone for other blockbuster movies. The movie has many iconic shots, especially the one where a bunch of happy residents are frolicking in the beach and are caught unaware by a shark who begins to prey on a mother’s son.

However, the film’s opening shot is no less. It follows Chrissie (Susan Backlinie), who decides to have a refreshing swim in the ocean. However, the tense buildup from the shark’s angle, who is stalking its victim and the minimalist score from John Williams, elevates the scene. The scene is uniquely told from underwater and the viewers can see how the shark is dangerously close to Chrissie who is floating on the surface. The ultimate moment when Chrissie shows terror on her face and realizes that her fate is sealed is even more horrifying than any gory description of the shark tearing her to pieces.